Camden Town Council unanimously appointed retiree Barbara Blomquist and Dover Police officer Jimmy Wood to the Camden-Wyoming Sewer & Water Authority Board of Directors at its meeting held Monday night.

Blomquist, a New Jersey native who worked as a secretary for a judge, was appointed to serve the one year remaining on former board member Tracey Green's three-year term. Green resigned in February out of frustration with the CWSWA Board's refusal to comply with the Delaware Freedom of Information Act.

Wood was appointed to a three-year term. He will replace outgoing Camden-Wyoming Sewer & Water Authority Board Chairman Mark Dyer.

Blomquist and Wood start their respective terms on Jan. 1, 2013.

The towns of Camden and Wyoming each appoint three members to the CWSWA Board, which was created by both towns.

Camden Mayor W.G. Edmanson said the appointments were necessary to fill the two seats that were up for renewal, one which had been vacant for nearly a year. However, council opted not to reappoint current CWSWA Board Chairman Mark Dyer with no comment.

The Camden-Wyoming Sewer & Water Authority recently complied with a court order that compelled it to honor a Freedom of Information Act request for salaries and benefits after a nearly two-year ordeal. Delaware Superior Court Judge Robert Young ruled on Nov. 7 that the Camden-Wyoming Sewer & Water Authority had to comply with FOIA request filed by Wyoming Town Councilwoman Georgette Williams for salaries, overtime and benefits. CWSWA complied with the court order two weeks later.

Young's court order followed legislation passed by the Delaware General Assembly and a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Beau Biden to compel the CWSWA to release its financial information.

On Monday night, Camden Councilman John Green, the husband of former CWSWA board member Tracey Green, asked Blomquist and Wood why they wanted to serve on the CWSWA Board.

Blomquist said she had been investigating the CWSWA "from day one." She wrote a letter in October 2010 to the authority that precipitated the FOIA request made by Williams, Blomquist said.

"I would like to see what goes on there," Blomquist said. "I know a lot of information has been in the newspapers lately. But, I'd still like to know why they charge us as much as they do."

Wood, who was formerly with the Camden Police Department, said he wanted to ensure the board made "sound and wise decisions."

Green said Blomquist and Wood embodied what he was looking for.

"We don't just need bodies on there given the problems we've had in the past," he said. "We want people on there that will actually do something."

Dyer said he was unable to attend Camden Town Council's meeting Monday night due to a conflict. Reached at home, Dyer said he had no sour grapes.

Page 2 of 2 - "That's what the town wants; that's what they get," Dyer said. "It's all politics. That was their decision because some did not like the board's position [on FOIA]."

Dyer has served for nine years on the CWSWA Board, he said. Prior to that he served six years on the Camden Planning Commission.

He said he would enjoy more time to spend with family, including not missing his son's ballgames and Cub Scouts meetings.